„How Can Central European Civil Society Assist the Egyptian Transition?“

June 6, 2011, Prague

The Forum 2000 Foundation in cooperation with DEMAS – Association for Democracy Assistance and Human Rights and EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy organized an international workshop entitled “How Can Central European Civil Society Assist the Egyptian Transition?” The workshop took place June 6, 2011 in Prague on the premises of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.

At the beginning of 2011 a series of calls for political, economic and social change appeared in countries of North Africa and Middle East. One of the most effective movements grew into a people’s revolution in Egypt where the strong voice of civil society pushed the president Hosni Mubarak to his resignation. Since the Czech Republic and other Central European countries went through a political, economic and social transformation during last two decades, these countries can share a lot of positive as well as negative experiences. The aim of the Prague’s workshop was to evaluate the current situation in Egypt and to open a discussion on engagement for Central European non-profit organizations in the democratic transition in this country as well as in the whole region.

The meeting was closed and its participants included representatives of public institutions and non-governmental organizations from both Central European countries and Egypt. The all-day workshop was divided into three parts. The first session focused on the analysis of the Egyptian civil society and identification of its needs. During the second part the participants examined the current transition activities of the Visegrad Group and European Union non-profit organizations in Egypt. At the end common visions and possibilities for future cooperation were discussed.